There are several difficulties in this verse.
(1) The Hebrew word translated wind in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation may also mean “mind” (King James Version) or “spirit” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Which meaning is more appropriate here?
(2) Is this word the subject of the verbs translated sweep by and go on in Revised Standard Version, or not?
(3) Does the Hebrew word translated guilty men in Revised Standard Version go with the first part of the verse, as the Hebrew punctuation suggests, or does it go with the second part, as most modern scholars and translators believe?
(4) Is this Hebrew word to be read as in the traditional Hebrew text, or as in the Dead Sea Scroll of Habakkuk, which has one letter different?
In response to (1), if the meaning is taken to be “mind” or “spirit,” then the sense of the verse is that the Babylonians go beyond the command God had given them and become proud of their own strength (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible footnote). However, most scholars and translators (Revised Version, Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) prefer to take the meaning as “wind.”
In answer to (2), if “wind” is taken as the subject (Jerusalem Bible “Then the wind changes and is gone”), then the first sentence is a metaphor. Its meaning is that the Babylonians, after conquering one place, “sweep on” to attack other places. Sweep by means to pass by, moving along at great speed. However, most translations take the Babylonians as the subject and translate as “like the wind (or, storm)” (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). This really involves adding one letter to the traditional Hebrew text. But it has the advantage of keeping the same subject as in the preceding verses. This interpretation has much the same meaning as the one in Jerusalem Bible above and fits more smoothly into the paragraph as a whole.
In answer to (3), those who prefer the meaning “mind” or “spirit” in (1) tend to take the word translated guilty men in Revised Standard Version with the first part of the sentence (King James Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). This fits the meaning that the Babylonians become guilty by overstepping the task God has given to them (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Most translations take “guilty men” with the second part of the verse (Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) and take that as the explanation of the guilt.
Under (4) Good News Translation seems to be the only English translation which follows the Dead Sea scroll. This manuscript has “set up” instead of “guilty” and gives the meaning “they set up their own power as a god.” This avoids the problem of (3) but is otherwise not much different from most other translations, which assume some such word as “is” (Revised Standard Version whose own might is their god).
Therefore, although the main thrust of the verse is fairly clear, it is almost impossible to make firm decisions about the details. Taking the majority decision on each of the above questions, we recommend a translation model as follows: “Then they hurry on just like the wind and pass by. They are guilty men whose power has become just like a god to them” (compare Bible en français courant). Or “Then they hurry on, just as the wind blows by and disappears. They are guilty men who worship their own power as if it were a god.” Compare the second half of verse 7 with the second half of this verse.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .